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Christmas Witness Outside the Box

Discussion in 'Evangelism, Missions & Witnessing' started by shodan, Nov 15, 2011.

  1. shodan

    shodan Member
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    Christmas Outside the Box
    November 8, 2011

    Before the bustle of the coming holidays and Christmas rush consumes our time, now would be an opportune moment for us to pause and look ahead for opportunities to seize that time in order to share Christ with another. How often are we given such a favorable time?

    Most of our attention during this Season is focused inside the box, inside the four walls of our church and our home. We rejoice in sharing Christmas through our church programs and presents; through worship and family gatherings.

    Many churches follow the Advent calendar, seeking to prepare our hearts to celebrate Jesus’ birth, the Incarnation, the Light of the world.

    What would this Christmas look like if every follower of Jesus Christ prepared his heart to share this Story with one other person who is outside the box?…with someone who needs Good News?…with someone on the fringe of Christianity?…with some friend or co-worker or acquaintance who does not know Christ?

    Such an event would be an amazing display of His lights in this world!

    Such an event seems impossible, certainly improbable! But it begins in each place with one person at a time. Let it be you no matter what others may do.

    Prepare your heart. Pray and seek God to guide you to that person. Prepare to open the conversation. Perhaps a Christmas book or video or cd can be the conversation starter. Pray for God to guide you and to open the door.

    Then, make a commitment to God to do it. And ask fellow Christians to pray for you in this endeavor. Trust in His strength and wisdom, not your own. Leave the results in His hands. All that any of us can do is to simply sow the Seed, give the Bread, and leave it in God’s hands as we remain open to whatever way He chooses to use us in this.

    In this busy time of preparing for winter or for holidays or for travel and with so many heavy burdens, it would be easy for any of us to give up on such an idea.

    But what if God had given up before that first Christmas?
    mikesnow.org
     
  2. ituttut

    ituttut New Member

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    I don't like playing the role of being seen as contentious, but when truth is involved, it is worth the effort. It is difficult to point out certain things to ones we know are Christians, and sincere in what they have come to believe.
    For many, yes.
    Agree many find this worship fits into what they believe.
    It would be wonderful, if they could back up their claim/s for Christmas.
    Agree, if the bearers of Good News could prove what they believe about Christmas to be true.
    So like your zeal, and commitment to spreading to the lost the name of Jesus Christ, and prayer.
    Should you be wondering the point of my reply, it can be found here. Was the birth of Jesus really the beginning of Christmas, as some may ask? Many unsaved people know quite a bit about the Bible, and look (or will look) into what is said, and found in the Bible. We can prove to them what is found in the Bible, but we can't prove to them by saying, well, just believe because that is what we Christians have been told to believe. Such as this is the reason some may reject what a Christian is telling them, i.e. when we try and use A DAY chosen by man, to present Jesus Christ.


    Just one or two questions we may be asked could be, 'I can't find in the Bible that Jesus was born on December 25. Also, will you please help me to find in the Bible the Holy Day of Christmas being observed by Christians? When did all this worship of the Day of Christmas begin?" If we stop and think, we know we cannot truthfully give answers to such questions as they are no where found in the Bible; We can however tell them this tradition of man began shortly after all of the Apostles had died. The Christmas (Mass of Christ) could only then begin. We decided this was another way that we could remember Him.

    I'll have to agree the intensions look to be good, but who told us to observe this particular day, and month to remember Him, and how was this particular Holy Day chosen?

    Thank you for your desire to impress on us the importance of putting the name of Jesus Christ before the world.
     
    #2 ituttut, Nov 16, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 16, 2011
  3. shodan

    shodan Member
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    Christmas Day

    I hate to throw my own thread off-track but some may find this article on interest:

    "Many Christians think that Christians celebrate Christ’s birth on December 25th because the church fathers appropriated the date of a pagan festival. Almost no one minds, except for a few groups on the fringes of American Evangelicalism, who seem to think that this makes Christmas itself a pagan festival. But it is perhaps interesting to know that the choice of December 25th is the result of attempts among the earliest Christians to figure out the date of Jesus’ birth based on calendrical calculations that had nothing to do with pagan festivals. {And as the author notes, they were almost certainly wrong about the date, but that is not the point}

    "Rather,the pagan festival of the “Birth of the Unconquered Son” instituted by the Roman Emperor Aurelian on 25 December 274, was almost certainly an attempt to create a pagan alternative to a date that was already of some significance to Roman Christians. Thus the “pagan origins of Christmas” is a myth without historical substance."

    continued here:
    http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=16-10-012-v

    But that subject aside, we should all make the most of the opportune moments that come our way to share the Light of Christ with those around us.
    We should seize the day.
     
    #3 shodan, Nov 22, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 22, 2011
  4. ituttut

    ituttut New Member

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    Amen to spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ from heaven.

    Many Christians do believe various things about the origin of Christmas. Whatever they believe is up to them. All I say is the ritual of Christmas is not found in the Bible. So then where did it come from? We can follow the path you have chosen for understanding, but there are other, many other sources from man to go to. Some can, I believe, really document the origin of Christ-mass, and it's connection to December 25. May we try one other than the one you led us to? http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract4.html

    I believe what I find in the Bible, and something's I read in other places, and not saying you don't. My original post was meant to point us to accountability, our own accountability of being able to defend what we believe. Since the ritual of Christmas cannot be found in the Bible, then its origin had to come from another source. We know it was actually started long before the birth of Jesus, and it was not called Christmas. We find Christians to take unto themselves the rituals of the heathen as shown Jeremiah 10. This is a happy season that the world enjoys, but I just cannot see bringing into a church the Christmas rituals that man started.

    We bring gifts to each other, and the children love it. We received the gift from God, and with it a gospel we are to daily spread in our lives, just as you said - ""share the Light of Christ ". We worship the living Christ, not the dead.
     
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